The internet is full of tips and tricks for how to improve your cruise vacation. You can find helpful information online from fellow cruisers on just about every aspect of cruising. With so much advice available, it’s hard to know which tidbits are actually useful or which are overhyped.
To boot, social media has made it easier than ever to learn about cruising tips and tricks. From YouTube videos to cruise forums and blogs, there are so many resources that provide hacks for enhancing your cruise experience.
Even as a veteran cruiser who has been on 46 cruises, I am still learning new travel hacks! I am always surprised when I learn something new, as I’ve been cruising for two decades.
One of the biggest hacks that I recently learned about was the ability to bring wine onboard your cruise. I am a rule follower, so I have never tried to sneak alcohol onto a cruise ship (since this is strictly forbidden). Alcohol is one of the biggest revenue drivers for cruise lines, so it’s not a shock they are strict about bringing liquor onboard.
If you didn’t know, most mainstream cruise lines allow guests to bring one bottle of 750ml wine or champagne on embarkation day. Considering cruise lines are very stringent about bringing alcohol onboard, I was surprised to learn that you could bring your own wine aboard a ship.
For my 7-night European sailing, my husband and I decided to try this cruise hack for ourselves. Since we did not purchase a drink package, we were looking for ways to save money on alcohol. We love having a drink while cruising, especially with dinner or during happy hour on the ship.
Remembering that we could bring some wine onboard on embarkation day, I suggested we purchase wine in London before heading to the cruise port in Southampton, England. Here’s how the cruise hack worked for us, and why it’s my new favorite trick when cruising.
For this cruise, we opted to buy wine in the embarkation port before setting sail
Depending on how you are traveling to the cruise port, you can either purchase the alcohol before or after you arrive at the embarkation city. Since we were flying internationally from Florida to England, we decided to shop for wine in London to bring onboard. We didn't want to hassle with wine bottles for our checked luggage, as it takes up space and weight.
For our cruise onboard Celebrity Apex, we were each allowed to bring one 750ml bottle of wine or champagne onboard. The day before our cruise, we decided to go shopping in London for our wine. We found an Amazon Fresh grocery store close to our hotel that we decided on. According to our online search, we could purchase wine here.
This was our first time shopping at an Amazon Fresh grocery store, and we were mesmerized by the technology. With your Amazon account, you simply grab whatever you want in the store, and the technology knows exactly what you’ve purchased. There wasn't even a check-out process! You simply left the store, and your Amazon account was charged. It was quite the experience!
We found a decent selection of wine to choose from in the store. I selected a sweet wine named Echo Falls Summer Berries, while my husband chose a cabernet sauvignon wine from Wolf Blass. My sweet wine was around $7.05 USD, and my husband’s red wine was $12.50 USD.
For less than $20 USD, we would have around 10 glasses of wine to enjoy between the two of us. Considering one glass of wine on Celebrity Cruises is anywhere from $12 to $19, this would save us so much money!
Wine in tow, we made our way to the cruise port in Southampton the following day. Our wine bottles were meticulously packed in our carry-on luggage, as instructed by the cruise line's policies. The wine had to be with us during embarkation or it would confiscated in our checked luggage. My husband had both bottles of wine in his suitcase when we boarded.
This was my first time ever trying this cruise hack, so I wasn’t entirely sure how it would work
Upon arriving at the cruise terminal, it was not clear if we would need to declare that we had wine bottles in our suitcases. I know if you bring alcohol onboard during a port of call, you need to store the alcohol with the cruise line until the end of the sailing. However, I had never brought wine onboard myself during embarkation.
We checked in for our cruise and went through security as usual. We decided to leave the wine in our luggage since it was allowed per Celebrity Cruises’ alcohol policy. We did not tell anyone or alert security staff, as we figured they had a process in place. No one stopped us or asked about the wine during the boarding process.
Read more: "Can You Bring Alcohol on a Cruise?" and 7 Other Cruise Ship Alcohol Questions
I couldn’t believe how easy it was to bring the wine onboard; there were no questions asked during boarding. I anticipated that both our carry-ons would be inspected to ensure we only had the two bottles allowed.
However, this was our first time trying this cruise hack, so others might have different experiences than ours. It could also depend on the cruise line or embarkation port as well. Regardless, bringing wine onto our cruise was extremely easy.
We celebrated the start of vacation with wine in our cabin as the ship sailed away
The first day of a cruise is always so exciting, especially after months of meticulous planning and preparation. After getting settled into our cabin onboard Celebrity Apex, the ship started to depart from the Southampton cruise port. We were on our way to Belgium and Norway!
Instead of going up to the pool deck, we enjoyed the sail away from the comfort of our own cabin. Since we had booked a balcony stateroom, we had a private verandah to use. To make the moment even sweeter, we poured a glass of wine from our respective bottles.
Conveniently, our stateroom included two wine glasses for us to use. This was perfect, as it meant we wouldn’t need to find wine glasses elsewhere. The stateroom also featured a cooling fridge, so I could keep my bottle of wine chilled throughout the trip.
Read more: Are cruise drink packages worth it?
The bottles of wine lasted us through most of the cruise!
During this 7-night sailing, the bottles of wine we brought onboard lasted longer than I anticipated. We enjoyed a glass of wine together here and there on the balcony throughout the cruise. One of the most memorable wine moments was during our Bergen railway where the ship transited under one of the city’s large bridges.
Since we didn’t book a drink package on this cruise, we were conscious of how much we were spending. My husband and I have loyalty status with Celebrity Cruises, allowing us access to a nightly happy hour onboard. This definitely helped us save money during our cruise too. However, the first evening is not included in the happy hour, and drinks are only complimentary during this allotted time.
Having the wine in our cabin saved us so much money! It was also extremely convenient to indulge in our wine selection from the comfort of our cabin. If you normally want any alcohol in your cabin, you have to either order room service or bring the drinks back from the bar.
My husband and I agreed that we'll continue bringing wine onboard our cruises, but I will probably continue purchasing drinks in the embarkation city, as I don’t want to fly with bottles of wine. I prefer to travel with just a carry-on, so this would cramp my style. We wish we had learned of this cruise hack many years ago, as it's one of my favorites that I've learned!
Although this cruise trick is worthwhile, you have to know the rules for your specific cruise line
Every cruise line is different when it comes to bringing alcohol onboard. Most of the mainstream cruise lines allow some sort of wine or champagne to be brought on the ship during embarkation.
Typically, each guest or stateroom can only bring a certain amount of bottles onboard for guests 21 years or older. This usually includes only wine or champagne and does not typically include liquor or beer. Bottles are often restricted to 750 ml, which equates to a standard bottle of wine or champagne.
In addition, you must bring the bottles of wine in your carry-on when boarding the ship, meaning it cannot be in your checked luggage. Moreover, the wine bottles have to be unopened and sealed to board.
Finally, you may have to pay a corkage fee if you open the bottles outside your stateroom. For this reason, most choose to bring bottles that are screw top versus cork. It’s most economical to drink the wine or champagne in your cabin as to avoid potential corkage fees.
Here’s a brief overview of the alcohol policies for the most popular cruise lines:
Carnival Cruise Line: One (1) 750 ml bottle of wine or champagne per adult 21 years of age or older on embarkation day.
Royal Caribbean: On embarkation day, each guest of drinking age may bring one (1) sealed 750 ml bottle of wine or champagne. Boxed wine and other containers are prohibited.
Norwegian Cruise Line: Wine and champagne are allowed onboard, but a corkage fee of $15 applies when consumed in restaurants, staterooms, or public areas. There is no limit to how many bottles a guest can bring onboard. Guests with a drink package do not have to pay the corkage fee.
Celebrity Cruises: Each guest of legal drinking age is permitted to bring one (1) item of wine or champagne on embarkation day. It must be sealed in a 750 ml bottle.
Princess Cruises: Guests of legal drinking age can bring one (1) bottle of wine or champagne onboard (750 ml in volume or less) on embarkation day. It must be presented to security. Corkage fee applies to consumption in public areas.
Disney Cruise Line: Each guest 21 years and older can bring a maximum of two (2) 750 ml bottles of unopened wine or champagne or 6 beers (no larger than 12 ounces) on embarkation day.
Virgin Voyages: Sailors are welcome to bring two (2) 750 ml bottles of wine per cabin in carry-on bags during the first day of the cruise.
Holland America: Guests of legal drinking age can bring one (1) bottle of champagne or wine onboard, but will be subject to a $20 corkage fee.
MSC Cruises: No alcohol is allowed onboard, even beer or wine.
Allie Hubers
Allie Hubers has been cruising since she was a tiny toddler. What started as a yearly vacation with family quickly turned into a passion for travel, cruising and adventure. Allie's been on over 45 cruises all over the world. She even studied abroad on Semester at Sea, sailing the world on a ship while taking courses for college and visiting 4 continents.
